No worries about discussing the winner of the Australian GP, but it is quite sad to see the triumphant return of Kubica looking so dismal. We all understand the situation that Williams is off the mark by quite a bit this year, but Robert seems to be woefully struggling to keep any pace. I am only hoping it is mainly the car, as so many , Worldwide , were hoping for the best for his heroic climb back to the top rung of racing.

Some interesting surprises in round one of the Formula 1 Season and though I have not been keen on the British Announcers at SKY, I am getting used to them and I do like the full race with no advertisements at the early am showing!

Mid pack runners may hold surprises this year , if this race is an indication? Some bemoan the lack of constant passing similar to Nascar, but I love the tactics and innovation of F1! The passing has improved , imho, over the past years , though maybe limited more to those behind the couple of front runners?

I saw great racing mid-pack and that's what dominated the TV coverage. No change at the top with MB and Ferrari clearly dominant. I bet Ricciardo loathes his decision to leave Aston Martin Red Bull to drive for Renault and finishes with a DNF while old teammate Max Verstappen finishes on the podium in 3rd place. Looking forward to how the season unfolds.

I would love to see the mid-pack competition we saw in Australia among the front-runners, but I would be surprised if AMG MB doesn't run away with it this year again. The advantages they have in funding from F1 is too much of a hurdle for the smaller teams to ever hope to compete against. Liberty Media was talking about evening the playing field in terms of how much teams received from F1, at which point Red Bull threatened to leave F1. So until the funding imbalance is resolved, I don't expect much to change.

Actually Mercedes and Ferrari complained about it and Red Bull followed, so with the top three teams threatening , it became a moot point. Agree Trackt, no real change likely unless Liberty has some guts and reduces the higher amounts some, just not enough for Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull to whine too much?

Likely true, VoodooBoss, but with the changes to the cars in 2019 what if the vehicle is now more suited towards Bottas's driving style? The mystery of Vettel's drive is perplexing , especially when LeClerc caught him , yet was ordered not to pass. Could be an interesting season?

I feel for Kubica. All he ever wanted was to get to the top, and he's there. How the mighty Williams has fallen though - once a strong enough team to lure two of the GOAT's of F1 - yet now it struggles so. Kubica was what, 3 seconds slower than his teammate and 6 seconds off pole? Finished 3 laps down while teammate was 2?

What's saddening in this case is one will never know truly why. Is the teams quality control between his and his teammate so poor that his car is just that much worse? How many people can be out of an open wheel car competition for this many years and successfully compete again anyway with the level of athleticism and competition here anyway?

And of course, everyone will always wonder if the injury is holding him back.

Likely true, VoodooBoss, but with the changes to the cars in 2019 what if the vehicle is now more suited towards Bottas's driving style? The mystery of Vettel's drive is perplexing , especially when LeClerc caught him , yet was ordered not to pass. Could be an interesting season?

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This drive me nuts!!! Ferrari system seems broken. It needs to change for them to win. I think LeClere will give Vettel a run for his money this year. But I also agree midpack was good to watch. I think if they keep getting that much TV coverage it will make someone realize it inequality up front is way out of whack.